Freedom
by eliana-moran
Summary: Ginevra believes in freedom and is convinced that it can save her former Slytherin classmates so she gives them a choice, kill her and remain a deatheater, or come with her and join the Order. Nott and Goyle proved her right. Will Malfoy? see profile
1. The Decision is Offered

Ginevra was running as fast as her legs would carry her. She spared a glance back every few yards to see if she was still being followed. She raced through the woods, dodging limbs and jumping roots, until she reached a clearing. Looking around her, she panted heavily, and turned to face her pursuer.

"You don't have to do this. You don't have to be what they want. You can make your own choices." She tossed her wand away from her. It landed a good four feet distant. The man chasing her stood on the edge of the clearing just watching her, stunned by her actions. "Kill me, if that is what you truly wish. If you believe that blood purity is all that matters in this world, if you believe that I have betrayed all that is good and pure by defending those who cannot defend themselves, then kill me right now and make the world a better place, but if there is any doubt in your mind now is your chance to think. Now is your chance to examine everything you are fighting for. Now is your chance to choose without any outside pressure. Be yourself and decide." Her panting had ceased and she stood tall and proud. There wasn't a trace of fear in her eyes.

"Is this how we lost Nott? And Goyle?" A cold voice issued from behind the death eater's mask. "You got them to chase you, run to a secluded spot, and gave them this bloody speech?"

She laughed a light and breezy laugh. "Actually, I chased Nott, but basically, yes."

"Do the others know what you are doing? Does _Potter_ know how you're throwing your life away?" The voice was mocking now. It spit out Potter's name as though it was vile.

She smiled. "Yes, they know."

She could sense an eyebrow raising behind the mask. "And they don't try to stop you? Some friends." He raised his wand. "Is it really worth it? The warm fuzzy feeling you have inside right now, knowing you're giving some poor kid a chance to do what's right, has it been worth it? Because it all ends here."

"Ask Theodore or Gregory when you meet them on the battlefield. Ask them if they are grateful for what I have done, and you will have your answer. Kill me now, Draco, it won't change anything. This isn't about a warm fuzzy feeling, this is about me, and it's about you. I'm not here to _turn you good_; I'm here to give you a choice. Whether you choose to remain where you are and I die here today or whether you choose to remove your mask and I die the next time I make this offer I have still given you a moment of peace, free of coercion. If you kill me here you will no longer be able to look back, years from now, and say that you were a kid, bullied into it by abusive parents. You will have no excuse, nothing to hide behind, because this moment existed, because you stood here, faced me, and took my life with no fear of recompense should you fail. You are completely free, Draco, for the first time in your life all that matters is you and what you believe." Her eyes seemed to bore into his mind and were reaching for his soul.

He lowered his wand. She did not smile but maintained her gaze. "This is not over, Red." He turned and ran back the way they had come.

She had presented two options, but in truth there had been three, and he took the third. He had let her live, but they would meet again on another battlefield with the line still between them.

"Well? I take it he didn't kill you but I don't see him either." Theodore looked relieved when Ginevra arrived at headquarters later that day.

"No, he took the easy way out." She sat down, weary.

"I still don't see why you insist on doing this, Gin. It's going to get you killed." Ron mumbled. He had long ago given up trying to talk her out of it, mostly because the twins had threatened to murder him if he didn't, but he was still adamantly against it.

"Because it needs to be done." Remus answered for the girl without looking up from his paper. "It is something that should have been started long ago by those who claim to be mentors and educators. Instead, we were lead by one we should have been protecting. Because of our folly the only way to reach those we lost is to endanger one we never could have kept." He looked up at Ginevra. "I am sorry, Ginevra, that we have put you in this position." She had only been doing this for two months and he had just returned from a mission and therefore only just learned of her activities.

She smiled sweetly. "I'm not sure anything _could_ have been done while they were in school."

"Yes sir, when we were in school our parents still ruled our lives. Even when they were a country away they were always present. Now, out there in the war, we are treated as adults and expected to behave as such. Our home is no longer where our parents live and we are expected to be able to survive on our own." Theodore decided he would be the best qualified to explain what Ginevra meant.

Remus nodded thoughtfully. "Perhaps, but I will never be able to reconcile myself comfortably to the fact that one we incorrectly continued to view as a child began to act on need none of us had even seen. Even if we could do nothing about ourselves and still needed to rely on her to do the exact same thing she is doing now, we should have realized that not all of you were entirely lost, that some of you could be recovered, saved from that life. I am sorry, Theodore, that we would have left you to that."

Theodore smiled warmly. "Perhaps you are right, it is not my place to judge, but if you are, your apology is gratefully received."

"He wouldn't have let me live if there were no doubts." Ginevra had begun staring off into space after she had spoken.

"I take it you are going to try again?" Theodore smiled at his new friend. He had the utmost respect for this young woman; she had saved his life, hadn't she, by offering him her own?

"Of course I am. But now I need food." Ron's face turned red in his efforts to keep his sputtering to a minimum.


	2. Second Chance

Ginevra was running again. It had been two more months since her first encounter with Draco and she had freed Pansy Parkinson in the mean time. She had been sure Pansy was going to be the one to choose the Death Eaters and end her campaign, but Pansy had surprised her at the last moment and asked if she would do the same for Draco. Of course Ginevra said yes, and apparently that was all Pansy needed to know. She now stayed at headquarters, keeping the place clean and cooking, making sure everyone who stopped by had a warm place to sleep, and was generally improving morale.

Finally she found a place deserted enough to turn and once again tossed her wand aside.

"Not this again!" Draco sounded exasperated.

"What else? Why'd you follow me? You must have known what was coming."

Draco raised his wand and shouted "Avada" before stopping. She hadn't flinched. Her eyes hadn't changed. "You really don't care if you die, do you?"

She smiled that infuriating smile of hers. "No, I do not."

"How is that possible? Even those who _accept_ their deaths _care_." He spoke as though he was trying to understand an insane person's logic.

She shrugged. "There are many who would willingly lay down their lives for those they care about. There are some who would willingly lay down their lives for strangers. As you say, they may not complain but they do regret that it must happen. When I made the decision to do this, to provide this opportunity to as many people as possible, I accepted as a matter of course that it would end in my death, eventually. In a way, I have come to view myself as already dead. It will happen, there is no denying that, so if it happens today at your hand it is not surprising. Would I prefer to live longer, accomplish more before I die, yes, of course. Do I desire to spare my family the pain of losing me as long as possible? Without a doubt. So I suppose, in a way, I do care, but not the way you consider caring. I regret that it must happen, but I believe the result much more than worth the cost. I am prepared to die, perhaps that is a more adequate way of expressing it than saying I do not care if I do." She paused for dramatic effect. "Why would I flinch from that which I do not fear?"

Draco raised his wand again and Ginevra raised her eyebrows. Their eyes were locked. He could see the peace, determination, and conviction that made up the core of her being. She could see the pain, confusion, and turmoil that was wracking his mind.

He dropped his wand arm and ran.

She returned to the burrow and sunk into a deep wing chair in the library.

"He ran again, didn't he." Pansy handed her a cup of tea. Ginevra nodded. "He'll come around. He'll take longer than the rest of us because he is so proud and yet so afraid. He saw things we only feared and has felt things we cannot comprehend. His pride is so much above ours but he has so much more fear deep within him. Give him time. I know it is hard on you but he needs what you have to offer more than anyone."

"How are the others." Ginevra was so tired.

"Harry, Ron, and Hermione have disappeared again. Remus left this morning on another mission. Snape is sleeping upstairs and will leave in the morning. Theodore and Goyle are explaining Death Eater training to your family and a few aurors for the fiftieth time." Ginevra did not miss the fact that Pansy had not answered her question. Querries seeking knowledge of well being were almost always answered with information regarding activity now. "Oh, there is this, Fluer is expecting. It has everyone terribly worried, but you can tell it is also providing them all with a bit of hope and strength as new life always does." Pansy had turned out to be quite deep and perceptive once you got to know her and Ginevra was glad for her friendship.

"That's excellent." A weak smile spread over her face. "I think I'm going to go get something to eat and sit in on the meeting." Pansy nodded and followed her down to the kitchen.


	3. Loss and Love

"It won't work, I'm telling that it simply will not work." Nott was trying desperately to convince Charlie that his plan was futile.

"Why not, give me on good reason." Charlie was determined to go through with it anyway.

"Look mate, you and I work well together, we've become what you might call friends, and I simply cannot let you get yourself killed. You cannot go through with this."

"You still haven't given me a reason." Charlie sat back in his chair, balancing it on only two legs.

"I thought certain death was a pretty good reason." Theodore sighed and rolled his eyes.

"That all depends on whose certain death we're talking about." Pansy entered the room and tossed a few clean articles of clothing at both boys.

"His." Theodore indicated Charlie with a sweater before beginning to fold it.

Pansy had been in a relatively good mood. They had sounded like they were half joking a minute ago and so she had joined in, but this ruined everything for her. Her face was suddenly stern and she stood up. "Charlie Weasley, if I _ever_ hear of you doing _anything_ reckless and stupid I'll…" she threw the clothes she had kept to fold herself at his head, "kill you my_self!_" She stormed out of the room.

Charlie watched her go with a looked of utter amazement on his face. He turned to face Theodore who had started chuckling. "You did that on purpose!"

"It was a lot safer than your plan, mate. She would have killed you for sure. Now get you sorry hide up those stairs and assure her that you are immortal."

He was still chuckling to himself a moment later when Ginevra entered the kitchen. "What was that about? Pansy comes flying up the stairs, slams the door to her room, and not a minute later Charlie almost bowls me over on the stairs." She studied Theodore's face a second before getting a large smile on her face. "You finally did it!" She sat down and started folding the abandoned laundry. "You finally set him up!"

"He was going to get her a necklace or something sappy like that. I couldn't let the guy get himself killed so I made sure she thought he was about to. The rest took care of itself." He neatly stacked the third sweater he had folded on top of the other two.

Ginevra shook her head and laughed softly. "A necklace? He wasn't going to say it was something to remind her of him while he was out in the field, was he?" Theodore nodded. "She would have torn his head off!" They both laughed again but stopped abruptly when Snape entered the room.

Theodore stood and led their old professor to a chair while Ginevra jumped up and got him a drink. Snape looked like he had just walked off a battle field from a loss. "We lost Shacklebolt." His words were a whisper the others barely caught. Ginevra sat down hard. "Tonks had to take Ares and Miles to St. Mungo's. I was made. The others must be warned, all my intelligence is worthless. They will be walking into traps."

Theodore left the room to alert the others. Ginevra moved over to Snape. "Let's take a look at your wounds." Snape tried to argue and pull his arm away. Ginevra grabbed his wrist and looked him in the eye. "Look! You came here to spread the word, to save lives, and for that I'm grateful, my father and brothers are out there, but you are wounded. You have done everything you can. Bleeding to death won't help them any more. Now let me look at your wounds." He relaxed his arm and she went about treating him.

By the time she had finished Pansy had come down stairs and had a good start on dinner. Theodore and Charlie were going over every bit of Intel they could, trying to ascertain what they could use and what would be too dangerous. They wanted the meeting that night to get started as quickly as possible.

Molly Weasley was the first to arrive and began helping Pansy with the dinner while Ginevra went to help the boys after _making_ Snape lie down. Tonks arrived next, followed shortly by Lupin, Fred, George, and Thompson. Siren, Carlisle, Goyle, and Bill stumbled through the door just as dinner was being served.

Everyone sat around the table. Ginevra had relented and allowed Snape to join them. There was no banter or efforts of diversion tonight, nor was there discussion and speculation. There was still one group missing. Arthur, Silas, Mallory, and Longbottom were still out. The meal was finished and Lupin was about to begin the meeting when Mallory stumbled into the room, covered in blood.

Ginevra ran to him, helped him sit, and tried to assess the damage when he managed to speak. "No, the others, they need it more." He looked toward the sitting room. She nodded.

"Tonks, Pansy, Siren, and Thompson, get the others to the hospital. If they're worse than this I'm not good enough to handle it." The four she had spoken toimmediately left the room. Ginevra returned to Mallory and quickly decided which wounds were the worst and began addressing those.

"Arthur, he…he didn't make it." Mallory finally managed to break the news. Molly broke down and the twins went to hold her. Bill's face drained of all color and he sat down quickly. Charlie squeezed the mug he was holding so hard it broke. Ginevra hesitated only a moment in what she was doing.

"Theodore, I need you over here. I don't have enough hands. We need to get him to the hospital." Theodore silently moved to help her transport the wounded man to St. Mungo's. After they had released him to the healers, Theodore turned to his friend.

When he looked her in the eye she started to shake so he reached out and cupped her face with his hand and she collapsed into him.

He apparated with her back to the headquarters where he passed her off to Bill. After doing so he looked up at Lupin who nodded. Everyone who did not have red hair silently left the room. The meeting could wait until morning. Losing Shacklebolt was bad enough, he was a friend, but Arthur was a husband and father.

Ginevra was running again. She had almost lost her pursuer three times already. She needed to focus. The running felt so good, so free. Finally she stopped, turned, and tossed her wand aside.

"You got Silas and Siren, they were valuable to us, you know."

"So I imagined. Now they are valuable to us."

There was something about her eyes that was different this time, and she hadn't smiled.

"Well, is this time you kill me? Is this the time you decide?" It had only been two days since the loss of her father. She didn't feel like playing mind games right now.

"What's the matter, Firebird, getting tired of this dance?"

She laughed a very dry and mirthless laugh. He didn't like it, it didn't sound right coming from her. "Firebird? Never mind. How many times are we going to stand here? How many times are you going to stand before yourself and run away? I am nothing here. My words mean nothing; my face means nothing; I am a vapor. Here you meet yourself. Here I stand a mirror. Will you finally face what is within you? Will you finally make a choice? Or will you run? Will you continue to hide?"

Her words stung him deeply. He wasn't hiding! He ran from nothing, from no one! He had refused to kill her in the past because of honor. She was a warrior; he had seen her on the battlefield. If he killed her it would be a death that was earned, a victory he had won. It would be honorable. But something inside him flinched as she spoke. Something inside him knew there was more truth in her words than he was willing to admit.

"You stand so high and pure. You would offer this chance to anyone, would you? Would you offer it to the man that killed your father?"

All color drained from her face and there was silence between them. She met his eyes, though, and he could not look away.

Slowly she began to walk toward him. She took one step, and then another, until she stood at the tip of his wand. Her eyes never left his. Her eyes, so sharp, so piercing, so deep.

"If this is the wand that killed my father let it kill me without remorse. If that is the tongue that formed the course let it apologize and be forgiven. If you are the death eater that broke my heart take my breath. If you are the man that broke my family come and let us hold you." Her voice was low and her words were strong.

He could not break her gaze. How could she stand there? How could her eyes be so sharp and yet so soft? How could she say the things she said and mean them so sincerely?

Finally she released him and lowered her eyesfor half an instantand stepping back. She put about a foot between herself and the end of his wand. She spread her arms out wide and tilted her head to the sky. He watched intently. Eventually she lowered her head and arms and looked at him, a very sad smile on her face. "I'll see you next time."

He watched her gather her wand and walk off. Why did he get the feeling that she had done so simply to spare him from having to run away again? Why did that feeling _not _make him angry?


	4. He Roars

"_You_ walked away from _him_ this time?" Pansy was a little confused.

Ginevra sighed. "I had accused him of running away, of hiding, of cowardice. I had made it personal. I made it a matter of pride that he make a decision. The only thing I _could_ do was walk away. I don't want to break him; I want to free him. It would be better that I never offered him the choice than _force_ him to make it."

Pansy nodded. "You should know, they're supposed to be back tonight."

Ginevra sat up. "Ron?" Pansy nodded again. "Does he know?" Pansy shook her head sadly. Ginevra fell back against her chair. "Who else is in the house?"

"Neville was released from St. Mungo's this morning, so he's here. It's him, Mallory, Silas, and Siren. Snape and Theodore will be back for dinner, as will Molly, Bill, and Charlie. Everyone is supposed to be here tomorrow morning for the meeting." Another one of Pansy's jobs had become to keep up with who was where when.

"Hopefully either Theodore or one of my brother's will be back before Ron and them." Ginevra really didn't want to tell Ron that their father was dead and was sure he would know someone was as soon as he looked at her.

She was not spared the duty, however, as three very tired and very relieved people arrived only half an hour later. Ginevra was still in the study when they arrived and waited for them to come to her. When they entered the room she greeted them all with as much enthusiasm as she could, but it wasn't much. When she got to Ron she just held on to him and started crying. She hadn't cried since it had happened.

Ron held her tightly and looked at Harry and Hermione who were both as worried as he was.

Finally Ginevra could speak and she whispered. "It's dad. He's gone." Ron's grip on his sister tightened and he couldn't believe it for a moment. When her words finally made sense he buried his face in her hair. Harry and Hermione looked at each other and left quietly.

A few minutes later Ron slipped into the room he and Harry would be sharing that night and told his best friends what his sister had just told him about what had happened. When he had finished he broke down into tears and Hermione held him, rubbing his back gently and whispering in his ear. Harry sat with his head in his hands. He couldn't just sit there. Arthur was the closest thing he had known to a father. Sirius had been family and his death had devasted him, but this pain was more subtle, just as deep, and its familiarity made it worse.

He got up and left the room. He had to distract himself or he would never make it through this. He returned to the study and found Ginevra staring out the window, but she didn't appear to be seeing anything. He figured she could use a distraction as well. "Had anymore run ins with Malfoy?" He took a seat on the couch.

Ginevra appreciated what he was doing and returned to her chair. "Two." She told him what had happened at each.

"Sounds like you'll reach him yet." Harry never could figure out why, but instead of absolutely standing against what she was doing as Ron had, he found himself supporting her. It was even harder for him to understand why he cared if Malfoy chose to come to the Order or not, why trusting the Slytherin alumnus was an option, but he knew that if Ginevra brought Malfoy in, trusting him would not be an issue. Maybe it was that her beliefs were based upon an almost insane faith in the power of love and sincerity. Maybe it was that there was something about her, whatever it was that had kept her alive this long, that just reached the heart. Whatever it was, he always found himself encouraging her.

Pansy entered the room. "Sorry to interrupt, but I thought you might like to know that the others are here and dinner's almost ready."

"Thanks." Harry stood and held a hand out to Ginevra. "Shall we?"

She grinned. "Let's."

When they got to the kitchen Charlie was hovering over Pansy who kept swatting at him and laughing. Neville and Theodore were playing chess and Bill was reading the paper to Molly. "Where're Silas and Siren?" Ginevra asked as she took her seat. Silas and Siren were twins and had been Slytherin a year above Harry in school.

"We're right behind you." Silas took a seat next to Ginevra. "We were just helping Pansy out by finishing up with the laundry."

"Ah." A few more seconds passed and Ron and Hermione came down. Bill stood and walked over to his younger brother. They looked each other in the eye a moment before embracing.

When they broke apart Ron sat next to his mother and hugged her tight. He kissed her on the cheeck and then asked, "What's for dinner?" Hard times call for strength, and engaging in long discussions about how everyone was holding up under the pain was dangerous. They could all sit down with this was over and mourn properly, but right now the stiff upper lip and a quick lock of the eyes communicated all that was needed.

The meeting the next morning went better than anyone had expected but still not good enough. Harry, Ron, and Hermione were leaving again and they still couldn't tell anyone where they were going. There was a raid coming up soon that promised to be one of the worst yet. The good news was that 70 percent of their efforts over the past fortnight had been successful. That meant new Intel and more resources with a few less death eaters.

The raid had turned out worse than they had anticipated. Everyone had been called out in some desperate hope. Ginevra stood on the battle field without a thought in her mind of leading Draco away, even if she could find him. She was needed here; there was no time for anything.

Screams filled the air around, screams of pain as well as fury. They were in a dense forest and it was dark. It was barely possible to see anything and both sides were hunting by sound. She heard a swish, a strangled scream, and a thud off to her left and ran that way as quietly as she could. Before she could get to where the sound had come from she saw movement out of the corner of her eye and turned, raising her wand.

There she stood, wand tip to wand tip with Draco Malfoy. "Where is your freedom now?" He bit out, as softly as he could.

Her eyes were sharp and focused, but not on him. Every muscle in her body was highly tuned and her reflexes were on high alert. He could tell she was made for the battle field.

Her eyes darted from side to side and her balance shifted almost imperceptibly in all directions as she listened to the screams and curses surrounding them. She was needed. She was one of the best they had. She could save lives if she would only break away from Malfoy. He watched her, knowing the thoughts that were coursing through mind.

She slowly closed her eyes, centered her head, lowered her arm, and relaxed her body. He was in shock. She opened her eyes and met his. "If this is where you need to find it to exercise it, it is here."

"Every second you waste with me one of your friends could be dieing at the hands of death eaters. You could save them, at least one. I've seen you fight. Why do this?"

Time had stopped for them. The roar of the battle seemed miles away. "Because they know what they are fighting for and are ready to die. You do not and are not. Kill me now or help me. Make your choice."

Draco stood there, with his wand raised and his mind racing. Why couldn't he kill her? Four times he had stood like this and four times he had failed. Why? He heard a twig break to the left of them. His wand arm and her head moved in perfect timing to face the noise. Instantly Draco shouted a curse and Ginevra ducked. A jolt of green light flew over her head and a death eater fell to the ground, dead.

Draco roared. There was no other description for the noise he made that would come close to adequacey. He roared and ran into the forest.

Ginevra watched him disappear before returning the battle. She did not see him again.

The count was high. They had lost Silas, Mallory, and Goyle. Carlisle, Thompson, Fred, Lupin, and Siren were badly injured. No one escaped unscathed.

* * *

A/N this story will not update tomorrow. i might also take monday off, but i will resume normal posting no later than tues 


	5. Contemplation

Ginevra was sitting in a wing chair, hugging her legs, and resting her forehead on her knees. She had no idea how long she had been sitting there when she heard someone enter the room. She could tell who it was by the measure of his step.

He sat down on a sofa near her chair and waited for a moment before speaking. "I wish you would just tell Theodore what is on you mind. He simply won't give us any peace. It is impossible to enjoy a decent cup of tea when there is an extremely jittery young man staring at you."

Ginevra drew her head back, rested it on the wing, and sighed. "You knew him. What do _you_ think is going through his head?"

Snape thought for a moment. "I knew, and know, quite a few males. If you want an informed answer I will need more information."

She closed her eyes and related the events of every meeting she had Draco. "And then he roared."

"He roared?"

She pulled her head up and looked at her former professor. "Yes, he roared. It was so…primal, raw, strong. He roared."

Again, he thought for a moment. "You've gotten under his skin and he doesn't like it. He cannot admit that everything he has been taught and has held to be true his entire life is false. He cannot accept the fact that he needed help. He cannot allow himself to _feel_ anything your presence in his life demands he feel: pain, guilt, fear, hope, gratitude, care. And, yet, you are undeniable."

She listened intently but got a confused look on her face at his last statement. "What do you mean, I am undeniable?"

He leaned forward, looked at her critically, and spoke. "There is something about you, deep within you, surrounding you, that cannot be ignored. Your very nature requires those who speak with you to listen. One cannot meet your gaze without exercising self-evaluation. Your purity, your passion, your very essence resonates strength and conviction, leaving those without feeling very empty when they stand before you.

"Generally speaking, it is subtle and tolerance can be acquired; one can learn to ignore that feeling. However, when you _purposefully_ call forth that quality, whatever it is, ignorance is not an option.

"To one such as Draco, who has always believed himself to be strong, always believed his convictions to be firm, and always believed that he has had the answers, facing the mirror of your eyes is almost unbearable. You force him to acknowledge all the insecurities he has denied, all the fears he has buried, and all of the doubts he has hidden deep within himself.

"It is not something you were born, yet it is who you _are_. It is not something that can be taught, but it _is_ something that can be learned. Your conviction reaches a level of your soul most cannot fathom. To those close to you it manifest itself as charisma and inspires loyalty. Those in need see it as compassion. Those who oppose you find it terrifying. Those floundering find it sobering. Those who are in turmoil find it intoxicating. Those in pain find it soothing. Those in denial find it insufferable.

"It may be taking him some time, but he will come around, and when he does be prepared, for we will have found your match." Snape held her gaze. He had no idea where half of what he had said had come from, he simply knew it was true. Eventually he could not take it any longer and broke eye contact.

He found himself surrounded by children that were not children. Ginevra's pure conviction and strength was unsettling. Granger's courage and cleverness was uncanny. Ronald's cunning and loyalty was unmatched. Potter's depth of heart and naiveté, the way he saw the world in black and white, good and evil, love and hate, was insufferable, infuriatingly respectable, and maddeningly necessary. All of the others, Fred, George, Theodore, Pansy, Siren, Longbottom, they were all children and yet they fought like men, even the girls; they knew what they believed and they stood by it; and he was certain if Ginevra decided she didn't like the way Lupin was running things they would follow _her_.

"Come eat something, even if you aren't hungry, for Theodore's sake." He stood and left the room.

She leant her head against the wing again and thought about what she had just been told. After a few moments she made her way down to the kitchen, still unable to shake the memory of that _sound_ from her head. He had roared…

Meanwhile…

Draco sat under a tree on a cliff over looking the ocean. Why had he saved her life? All of his problems would have been over if he had only let that curse hit her. What was it about her that did this to him? Why was he haunted by her eyes? Why was he drawn to her?

He asked himself these questions, along with many others, over and over. It seemed to be all he was doing. He relived every moment he had spent with her searching for answers. He remembered every word she had said and analyzed them repeatedly.

He could almost ignore it all; he could almost forget about her and move on, but every time he got close he would remember the way she had looked at him, standing with her throat at his wand tip, two days after he had killed her father. How could she forgive him for that? He could not understand, but he did not doubt that she would, and had.

If she found so much confidence and completion in her convictions, if she was that strong and fearless because of how she believed what she believed, could she really be wrong? There was no doubt in her mind, none, not a single doubt lie buried deep within her, denied and forgotten. And when he looked at himself…

He got up, dove off the cliff, and swam two miles in the cold water and he still could not get away from her eyes.


	6. The Decision is Made

It had been three weeks and no one had seen or heard of Draco Malfoy. The Order believed him to be on a mission somewhere for the death eaters and was looking for him diligently. That is, at least, until Ginevra freed Thomas Crammer and they learned that the death eaters had no idea where he was either. According to Crammer, he had sent in a message saying he was on the trail of something important and should be left alone so that he could pursue it further. No one had the slightest idea what it was he could have come across, but they double and triple checked all of their security measures and perked up the watches.

Thomas Crammer was actually the third Ginevra had freed since her last encounter with Draco. The number of open battles was increasing rapidly and apparently eliminating her was a standing order and promised glory to whomever accomplished it. She found this very flattering, and actually quite helpful. In the beginning it had been pulling teeth to get someone to follow her far enough. Now it was much easier. Of course, it did increase the risk, but she was no more concerned with that than she had been.

After her talk with Snape she had managed to resume a relatively normal state of mind. She no longer thought of Draco every waking moment. She did, however, think of him whenever things slowed down and she could still hear his roar and see his eyes whenever she closed hers. She thought quite a bit about what Snape had said and then decided it was best not to think about it at all, except for his last statement. When she _did_ sit down and contemplate the Malfoy heir she ran everything she knew about him threw the lens of "when he does…we will have found your match." She thought about the way he carried himself, the way he spoke, the way his eyes were always sharp, even when he was confused. She thought about the way he took command so easily in any situation and how he had always been able to read people remarkably well. She thought about how he was always watching, always aware of his surroundings and how sharp his reflexes were. If what Snape had said about her was true, what he had said about Malfoy being her match was equally so. She had no doubt that the classic battle for supremacy, the staring contest, would end in a draw between them. No, actually, she did have a doubt, she wasn't entirely sure she would not submit. She had come to admire him.

If he _had_ come with her the first time they had met like everyone else she seriously doubted she would have the respect for him she did. He was battling for his beliefs. He was standing for what he believed in and was testing it himself. He would not take anyone else's word for what was right and wrong, not anymore. If he came over now she would know it was out of true conviction that would never waiver. You do not resist something that strongly to finally accept it weakly.

Draco, for his part, had needed time to think, time to lay everything out on the table and examine it at length, time to figure things out. He had written that note to buy himself that time. He ran through almost every memory he had of his father, almost every conversation he had ever had with the Dark Lord, almost every time he had ever seen Dumbledore, and _every_ time he had ever seen Ginevra. He reexamined everything he knew about Potter and his various adventures. He brought to mind occasions when he had seen muggles and all the things he knew about Granger and other muggle-borns. He compared the death eaters he knew to the Order members he knew. He compared what he knew about the Weasley family with what he knew about his family and those of the other Slytherins. He ran over everything twice and went back through it all again.

Whenever he got frustrated and was about to give up in despair he would remember they way she had stood with her face to the sky. It always came back to her eyes, though, those beautiful, haunting, deep, piercing eyes of hers. Finally he reached a conclusion.

Christmas and the new year had come and gone. It was now late February and a heavy snow cover lay across the country. Spirits were low and feet were dragging despite the increased opposition. Fortunately the death eaters didn't seem to faring any better than they were.

The return of Harry, Ron, and Hermione picked things up a bit, though. For one, their presence had always meant a full scale battle in the past so it was important that everyone be awake and prepared. They were saying they had one more trip to make before they could explain themselves and the increased activity and desperation of the death eaters was almost suredly due to their occupations.

As expected the battle came. It took place in Hogsmeade, this time, with everyone running in and out of alleys and shops making use of the ample cover. It would be a miracle if anything was standing when it was over.

Ginevra was running down an alley hoping to get behind Madame Rosemerta's and take a new angle at a group of death eater's defending their position in Honeyduke's. It had started snowing again and she was grateful, it meant a higher level of invisibility. She didn't care that it meant the same to the enemy; she preferred to hunt by sound as most found it very difficult.

She stopped dead in her tracks in the middle of the alley, letting her wand arm fall limp at her side when she saw the man standing at the end, waiting for her. He smirked when he saw her. She met his eyes and almost immediately mimicked him. Without any other communication she sprinted toward him and around the corner. He was at her side when she reached Rosemerta's.

She turned to face him. He nodded. Together they went out and claimed Honeyduke's.

* * *

A/N sorry for the lack of dialogue, I simply couldn't find an appropriate place to add any. 


	7. Trust

Together a man and a woman stormed Honeydukes. The death eaters hiding within barely had time to register a full attack before they were unconcious. Ginevra was tired of hiding behind something and firing curses and hexes at distant enemies and subtelty had never been her companions prefered method of attack. They walked through the streets of Hogsmeade in confidence, but not folly; they took cover when they needed to, but they did not pause or hesitate in their advance. It was not more than ten minutes after they had joined forces that the battle had turned and been decided. The death eaters were fleeing the village as fast as they could and yet they all hoped they would not be the first to return and be called to report.

Less damage had been done than everyone had feared. There had been only one fatality and relatively few wounds, most curable on the field. The town itself had somehow survived with only one building sustaining extensive structural damage. The success of the battle was easily attributed to the two warriors who stood in the middle of the street in the middle of the town in the middle of the snow storm.

They stood there, side by side, watching those around them deal with the aftermath of the battle. They watched as field medics tended wounds and as Aurors rounded up the unconcious, wounded, and bound death eaters. They stood there in silence. Their cloaks billowed about them in the wind. Her hair danced about her face. Slowly his eyes turned to watch her. Slowly she closed hers and tilted her head the sky.

"I am sorry." His voice sounded as she had never heard before.

"For what?" She turned and met his gaze.

"That you are here. That your father is not. That I have hurt you more deeply than can ever be amended." His eyes held an expression they had never held before.

She tilted her head the side a little and gave a small smile. "You are here. That is all that matters now."

He raised his hand and held her face. "Thank you."

She closed her eyes. "For what?" Her smile widened.

"For the risk you have taken. For the patience you have had. For setting me free."

"You are here. It was all worth it."

She could feel a pressure ever so incredibly light slowly bringing her face up and she could feel him getting closer to her. She did not open her eyes as she took half a step closer to him.

"GIN?" She fell back with a soft thud and a sigh. "GIN!" The hand had left her face and was now scratching the back of his head as he chuckled lightly. They both looked up to see Ron walking toward them with a very relieved expression on his face. "Oh good! I was afraid you had gotten one of them to chase yo..." He had finally recognized who she was with. "Oh..." He had no idea what to say.

"Ron! She's... Ah!." Harry ran up next to them. "Hey Gin. I saw you on the battle field earlier and wanted to warn him, but it looks like he found you first." Ron was looking back and forth between them, trying to accept that the man standing before him really was who he was.

Ginevra smiled warmly. "Ron, you know Draco. He helped me empty this town of death eaters a few moments ago. In fact, he took _one_ down right before it hit _you_ in the back as you ran into Zonko's."

"Uh...Right. Thanks." Ron awkwardly held out his hand.

"Any time." Draco took the offered hand and shook it like he had been waiting years to be introduced to this man. "I know this must be odd for you, so take your time." The corners of his mouth were twitching in amusement. His worldview may have changed, but he still had a rather dry, somewhat sarcastice sense of humor that would never fail to find the entertainment value of other's discomfort, especially when it was his fault.

"Glad to have you with us." Harry shook Draco's hand warmly. "Well, Ron and I better get going. We told Hermione we would meet her as soon as the battle was over and head out if we weren't too tired and we aren't. Hopefully we'll be back before too long and we can end all this." He gave Ginevra a quick hug and turned back to Draco. "You take care of her now. There hasn't really been anyone around here that I figured up to the challange so I've been kinda worried. Nott's been doing the best he can and Snape helps when he's needed, but I'm counting on you now."

Draco looked over at Ginevra who had an amused expression on her face and back at Harry. He had nothing to say so he bowed instead. When he was standing straight again Harry clasped wrists with him and they shook Roman style.

Ron mumbled a "Bye Gin," hugged his sister, and actually nodded at Draco respectfully before walking off with Harry, still in a minor daze.


	8. Firebird

"No. I assure you. They have no idea what Harry and the others are doing. They are simply angry that they do not." Draco was leaning against the counter in the kitchen of 12 Grimmauld Place. Half of the Order was questioning him. "If we keep them busy until Harry returns they will never know what hit them."

"Do _you_ know what Harry is doing?" Snape had an odd expression on his face.

Draco sighed. "I have spent the last three weeks doing nothing but thinking. I've thought about a lot of things. Some of what I thought about led me here. Some of what I thought about leads me to believe that, yes, I do know Harry has been doing. However, if he has not told you, neither will I."

"How do we know we can trust you?" Bill asked what everyone wanted to. Malfoy had been one of the most successful leaders of the death eaters. Yes, they had gotten used to seeing death eaters follow Ginevra home, but they had all been relatively low in rank, except for the twins, and they had all come the first time she confronted them.

Draco shrugged. He had no explanation or justification for anything.

"Nott, what do you say?" Charlie decided it would be best to ask those that had once served under him as death eaters.

Nott looked up at Draco and then over at Ginevra. "I say trust him."

"Siren?"

Siren had been a different person after the death of her brother. She was quiet and reserved now when she had once been energetic and a little wild. She studied Draco's eyes a moment before nodding.

"Pansy?"

"You know I say trust him." Her answer was immediate.

Charlie sighed and looked at Bill who in turn looked at Remus. Remus exchanged a look with Snape before turning his eyes to Molly. Molly looked up at Tonks and over to Bill. That is just the trail of one glance as it made its way around the room. There were many others. Everyone seemed to be trying to figure out what everyone else thought without asking.

Ginevra stood up from where she had been sitting in the corner. "You all want to believe he has changed. Yet you are all afraid to take the risk. You have heard the vote of all former death eaters. You know where I and Snape stand. Yet none who feel they are in a position of sufficient authority to suggest we accept will do so unless they feel the others agree. So I say it. I take the authority to initiate him as a member of the Order. He is invaluable to us. We need him. He is one of us now and that is the decision. May we move on to our next move now or should we eat dinner and put the meeting off until tomorrow?" Snape looked satisfied; Charlie looked a little surprised; Bill seemed to be impressed; Molly looked proud Tonks nodded; all former death eaters smirked; Draco looked honored; and Remus considered her words.

It never crossed Remus' mind to question her right to make such a decision. He took it for granted that she had earned the right. After all, she made quite a few of their tactical decisions, along with Bill, himself, Snape, and Nott. He was considering her question about a meeting versus an evening off.

"I believe the meeting should wait until morning." He finally spoke. "We should clear out so those with the ability can cook." He stood and most of the men followed. Draco stayed behind.

"Firebird," he reached out and touched Ginevra's arm to get her attention, "is there anyway you can slip out so we can talk?"

She smiled and nodded and led him upstairs. She claimed her favorite wing chair in the library and he looked out the window before turning around and leaning against the sill.

"That was the first time you assumed authority, wasn't it?" He asked her.

"They practically always do as I advise, but I've always phrased it as a suggestion before, so yes, that was the first time I truly exercised authority." She was curious as to where this was going.

He nodded absently.

"Why do you call me Firebird?"

He smirked to himself. "Because that's what you look like on the battlefield. It is truly magnificent to watch you fly." He was looking at the floor.

She was taken off guard by his answer. She didn't know why, but she was.

He looked up suddenly. "You disarmed in the middle of a battle." He looked as though that was the one thing he had been unable to understand, and it was.

She examined the cloth covering her knees a moment before responding. "Dueling, fighting, strategy, it has always come easy to me." He smiled, picturing her on the battlefield. "But what I have become known for has not. My conviction about freedom and choice has not always run so deep. My concern and compassion for others has not always come naturally. I had to fight to develop that. I had to fight to learn how to hold my ideals." She finally looked up at him. "If I failed you, for some reason, nothing else would have mattered. If failed you, for some reason, all of the other successes would have been empty. It honestly did not matter to me which decision you made, so long as you made one. If you chose darkness I would not have survived to see it." She paused.

He could tell she was not finished and moved to sit on the couch next to her, watching her in mild confusion. This was not really the type of answer he was looking for. He had no idea what he had expected, but this was not it. To be honest, he couldn't really see how this answered his question yet.

She continued. "I saw too much of myself in your eyes. I saw what I could have been, what I almost was. I knew that had our positions been reversed, had I grown up in your home and you in mine, our positions would have been reversed; _you_ would have been the one fighting for the Order and _I_ would have been the death eater. We are almost completely different in personality, but we are almost identical in character." She looked up at him.

"I knew that if I did not do something right then I would lose you. You would not kill me but you would never follow me again either. The only thing I _could_ do that would get through to you was disarm. Nothing I said would have made any difference. I had to _do_ something, and that was it." She half shrugged before looking back down at her knees.

He ran his hands through his hair. She had just explained why he hadn't been able to kill her, perfectly. He hadn't figured that out yet, but there it was. "I never could kill you because I felt that if I did I would be killing myself as well. I didn't understand it at the time and it nearly drove me mad, but that is why I could not let you die. That is why I saved you life, and saving your life is why I went away to think." It was his turn to be preoccupied with something in the general direction of down.

"I'm sorry if I pushed you too far." Her voice was so small that he immediately went to his knees before her and reached out and cupped her jaw in his hand, forcing her to look him in the eye.

"You did not push me too far. I would not be here if it were not for you. You did what you had to and nothing more. You were what I needed and nothing less. Why would you even think that?" He was searching his eyes, trying to figure out why she seemed so afraid. She was his angel, his savior; she should not feel so insecure.

"You…after you saved my life, you… roared. It sounded as though I had hurt your soul by putting you in that situation." She tried to look away but he held her gaze.

He almost laughed but held it back to a warm smile. "Firebird, my soul was hurt, yes, but it was because _I_ had put _you_ in that situation, not the other way around."

Her eyes stopped trying to escape and look incredulous for a moment before looking surprised, followed by relief, and then joy. He released some of his laughter and pulled himself up so that he was kneeling rather than sitting on his heels.

Their eyes were level and all thoughts but for each other at that moment disappeared. She felt the familiar sensation of being drawn inward and she shifted so she wouldn't fall without breaking eye contact. His other hand was halfway to her hair.

"Dinner!" Pansy called from the stairs.

Draco fell back on his heals and laughed outright. It was the most beautiful thing she had ever heard. She couldn't help but laugh as well and he thought the same. Together they made their way downstairs.


	9. Sleep

The moment in the library had been their last quiet moment alone together for a while. The next morning the Order launched a full and complicated campaign, the likes of which they had not yet attempted. For some reason, with both Draco and Ginevra present everyone felt they could achieve anything. There was an energy that ran between them, that fed off of them, and filtered into those around them.

Ginevra had stepped up once again and pulled Draco with her. It was evident and uncommented upon that they each had an equal vote with Remus as to what was done how and when. Remus, for his part, was glad she was finally living up to her potential and grateful for the help. He had not been too anxious to take on the responsibility of running the Order and now he no longer had to, at least not alone.

Draco adjusted quickly. It was natural for him. He had been a rather high ranking officer in the Dark Lord's army and now he was one of the highest in the Order. He truly had changed. He was relaxed now, even when contemplating the darkest war in the history of Britain he had a way of seeming to be at complete ease. He smiled now, more than smirked, though the smirk still made its appearances. He laughed. His eyes shone and he had a way of making people feel safe and at ease around him. It was a strange contrast to Ginevra.

Ginevra had a way of inspiring people to be better and Draco made them feel like they could. People wanted to live up to Ginevra's standards and felt as though Draco's leadership made it possible. It seemed as though disappointing or hurting Ginevra was the worst offense you could make and having Draco look down on you or reject you was the worst thing that could happen.

On the other hand, people felt close to Ginevra, everything was personal with her and you knew she cared and was compassionate. Draco didn't let people close. They knew he cared about them, but it was much more subtle and distant.

They were the same and yet they were opposite. In business he was personal and friendly and you felt at ease while she was challanging and authoritative and you felt compelled to improve. In everything else she was warm and open and you felt welcome and loved while he was civil and kind and you felt appreciated and respected but distant.

The weeks were passing and battles were becoming more frequant. More often they were started by the Order rather than met. Draco and Ginevra tried to be present at as many as possible, but more frequently only one would make it if either of them did. Even with Draco helping her, Ginevra had failed to free one person since he had come over. No one would follow her off the battlefield anymore and eventually she gave up trying.

The war was locked. Neither side was making much progress. The Order was slowly nearing the point where they could turn the tide, however. Ginevra only prayed they would get there before Harry returned.

"I'm telling you, if we confront them there it will quickly spread and to many civillians will be hurt, even if we evacuate the area now." Ginevra was in a debate with Draco about whether or not to engage in battle in Diagon Alley.

"In Hogsmeade..." he hesitated, "right, Hogsmeade is a small town, thoroughly wizarding, nowhere to spread to...Then how do you suggest we get them away from Diagon Alley?" He ran a hand through his hair, a mark of confusion he only indulged in when they were alone. They had learned that four or five death eaters were always present in Diagon Alley and were trying to figure out how to remove them.

"I don't know." She leaned back heavily in her chair and rested elbow on the arm and her head on her fist. "But we have to do something soon. They have to be there for a reason, maybe if we knew what that reason was..." She trailed off.

"But we don't." He sat down and stared at the papers before them.

She rubbed her eyes with her free hand and failed to stifle a yawn.

"When was the last time you slept?" He looked at her with concern in his eyes.

"Um..." she tried to think. "Remus had just returned from the north so you woke me up for a meeting. Then he went south and you went west and we've been so busy here ever since..." anything else she was going to say was lost in another yawn.

"That was three days ago! And that was a _nap_ I woke you up from. You hadn't slept more than two hours." He shook his head and stood to walk over to her. "Before that nap it had been 32 hours without sleep for you. You can't keep doing this to yourself. This is the third time I've caught you going without sleep." He bent down and picked her up, ignoring her protests.

"But Diagon Alley..."

"If I can't figure it out we'll deal with it when you wake up." He continued as if that little interruption had not taken place. "Not to mention the countless times Pansy has needed to inform me that you won't sit down for a meal and insist on only eating a bite here and there on the go." He made his way upstairs and she leaned her head agaisnt his chest, resigned to her fate. "If you don't start taking care of yourself I'm going to start limiting my trips to the perifery to times when Remus or Nott are here." She opened the door to her room for him. "In fact, I'll just stop going. They don't know how to _make_ you do anything." He smiled slightly and laid her on the bed.

"You...you ha..." she yawned again.

"Exactly. I have to go. So sleep! and eat!" She smiled up at him.

"Yes sir." She snuggled up under her covers and looked up at him. He was sititng on the edge of her bed, one hand resting on the other side of her head supporting his weight.

He looked down at her and smiled warmly. "That's better." His free hand came up to gently remove some of her hair from her face and he started to lower himself down to her. Their eyes were locked. His hand came to rest on top of her hair and the longest strands of his were brushing her forehead. He tilted his head to the side a little and she closed her eyes. Something crashed downstairs and she felt his head fall next to hers on the pillow in exasperation. "No, you stay here." The hand that had been supporting her weight went to her shoulder to keep her from getting up as she was trying to do. "I'll take care of it. You sleep."

She could here him mumbling under his breath as he left her room. She smiled to herself and remembered their first time on the battlefield together as she drifted off to sleep.


	10. Plans

A/N thanks to everyone who is reading and reviewing. (insert shameless plug for other stories i'm posting: the horsemen and storybook love)

* * *

When Ginevra awoke and made her way downstairs she stopped on the last step and just stared. Harry, Ron, and Hermione had returned. She calmly walked past them without a word and they stared after her and followed after exchanging confused glances. Once in the kitchen she located Draco. "You...My brother is home and you let me sleep?" She couldn't decide whether she was angry or amused.

He raised an eyebrow. "If you want me to wake you up when something important happens you should sleep more than every third day." He wasn't phased by her anger at all, partly because he could see the amusement in her eyes, but mostly because he was the only person who had no _reason_ to fear her anger.

"Fair enough. When's dinner? I don't want to have to sit out the final battle because I didn't finish my vegetables." Draco laughed, as did Pansy and Charlie who were preparing the meal, and Theodore who was sitting across from Draco. Harry chuckled, but Ron and Hermione just stared, still unable to fully comprehend the change in either of the young adults before them.

Ginevra turned and greeted them all warmly before sitting down next to Draco. "So, have you shared any of your knews or answered any questions I would be repeating?"

"Actually, Draco refused to let us speak of our doings at all, not a single word, until you were awake." Harry took a seat opposite Ginevra. Ron sat opposite Draco and Hermione sat beside him. Theodore had moved to the end of the table to give them room next to each other.

Ginevra looked at Draco out of the corner of her eye before nodding slyly. "So he _is_ learning." He laughed and pulled her close to him, kissing her temple. She playfully pushed him away. Ron's mouth fell open and Harry looked up at Charlie who shrugged and then over at Theodore who shook his head with an annoyed look on his face. Harry rolled his eyes and Theodore nodded in appreciation. Draco and Ginevra had turned to discussing who they would be able to call in in time for a meeting that night and completely missed the exchange. Ron, however, caught the tale end of it and looked at Harry in a cross between accusation and inquisition. Harry mouthed the word 'later' before turning back to the redhead and blond.

"So, I assume you still want us to delay any information sharing until this meeting you're talking about, but can you please fill us in on what we've missed here?"

Ginevra looked at Draco in confused accusation. "You could have saved me the tedium of reporting, you know."

"Ah, but then who would break it up for me?" She rolled her eyes and it was Hermione's turn to look at Theodore who once again shook his head, but this time he was trying to hide a grin. Hermione raised her eyebrows in disbelief and Ron looked at her the way he had looked at Harry a moment ago. She too mouthed the word 'later' and sat back in his chair, crossing his arms over his chest, thoroughly annoyed.

By the time Draco and Ginevra had run through the basics of the Order's activities dinner was ready and people were piling into the suddenly small kitchen. Pansy stood on a chair Charlie had freed for her and started bangin on a pot with a wooden spoon. "Listen up! Everyone who ate before they came file into the living room! I assure you nothing official will be shared until the meeting, you won't miss anything! Shoo!" Half of the people slowly began to shift and sift their way out of the kitchen, some laughing some mumbling.

Finally Remus entered the room and took his seat next to Ginevra and they began a whispered conversation in which she caught him up in all the latest news and reports, much more detailed than what she had helped explain to the others. Across from her, three heads turned toward Draco and three mouths opened to ask a question. Draco raised a hand to forstall them and swallowed. He looked at them tentatively before answering. He and Ginevra had failed to elaborate on their particular roles in the Order. "Hm...well..." he wiped his hand on his napkin, even though it didn't need it, and offered across the table to Ron, "Draco Malfoy, member of the triad leadership of the Order of the Pheonix."

Ron slowly brought his hand up and shook Draco's. Harry rubbed his chin with his hand and nodded appreciatively. Hermione looked over at Ginevra who was still whispering to Remus. Remus caught her eye and winked. She shrugged and half smiled.

That night Bill cast a charm on the wall seperating the kitchen and the sitting room making it invisible and Charlie cast a charm allowing sound to travel between the rooms as though it were one. At least four people walked into the walk through the course of the evening.

The meeting began with Remus bringing a report from the south followed Draco reporting from the West. Ginevra wrapped everything together, painting a complete picture of what was happening across the country and then introduced Harry who was going to report for the trio. He had been instructed earlier to keep the report to a minimum, leaving out details, concentrating on what it meant for the future. He never even stopped to think that Ginevra had been the one to instruct him, he merely obeyed.

He told everyone that they had been searching for Voldemort's weakness and that they had finally found it. Any attempt at a direct attact or personal confrontation with the Dark Lord before then would have been futile, but now they were ready. Now he was prepared to face Voldemort and end the war. The room erupted into cheering.

Draco allowed them to cheer for a few minutes before raising his hand. Ron's mouth fell open yet again when the entire gathering silenced at that one gesture. "All right! You have heard the report. Return tomorrow for your orders." The crowd began to mill around, attempting to locate coats and hats and other such paraphanelia. It took about twenty minutes, but eventually things had died down and the real meeting was about to begin.

Draco, Ginevra, and Remus sat centered on one side of the table. Snape, McGonagall, Moody, Tonks, Theodore, Bill, Charlie, Pansy, Siren, Harry, Hermione, Ron, Fred, George, Thompson, Neville, Aberforth, and Molly sat or stood around them. The kitchen was crowded, but twenty was better than fifty.

Ginevra held up her hand and everyone stopped talking and looked at her. "Okay, now for the real report. Harry, why don't you provide us with some detail?" Harry nodded and launched into a full account of their exploits hunting down the horcruxes and destroying. He went as far back as his education from Dumbledore and brought everyone up to date. It took about an hour to tell the comlete tale, well, at least the relevant parts.

Everyone listened carefully and after he was finished they all sat there for a few moments thinking about what they had just heard. "Good, now what do we do about it?" Draco began the tactical portion of the meeting.

Harry was surprised at how well prepared the Order had been to meet his news. He had no idea they would be capable of setting up what would be the final battle so quickly. It took until one in the morning, but they had a plan that seemed pheasable. They would all sleep on it and meet again at ten the next morning to go over it one more time before they began handing out assignments.

By the end of the evening Ron had fully accepted that his sister had so much authority; it was fairly obvious that she deserved it. He even admitted that Draco was a good man for the job as well. He nearly fell of the bed, however, when Harry and Hermione explained the strange glances they had exchanged with Theodore at dinner.


	11. Charades

Ron was mumbling darkly to himself. Harry and Hermione kept exchanging glances. They cycled through worried, amused, annoyed, confused, and back again and least three times before he stopped and flopped back on his bed. "If she loves him, he better not break her heart. That's all I have to say." Hermione rolled her eyes and leaned back against the wall with a relieved look on her face.

Ron sat up again. "What makes you think she's in love with him anyway? I mean, you're the one who says no one has seen evidence that she is even though they've all been looking." He sounded a little too hopeful.

Harry shook his head and laughed a little. "Face it, mate, anyone can see it. It's practically palpable. Didn't you notice that he wasn't afraid of her today when she was mad at him?"

"Yeah, so?"

"Didn't you notice that she couldn't stay mad?"

"Yeah…" he was beginning to catch on.

"How many people do you know that can stand up to your sister? That are more stubborn than she is and can stare her down?"

"None…" the admission was made reluctantly. "But that doesn't mean that she…"

"She got through to him when no one else could, not even Dumbledore." Harry interrupted him.

"But that doesn't mean _she's_ in love with _him!_ Maybe he's just in love with her or something…"

Harry rolled his eyes. "The energy that flows between them cannot possibly be one-way."

The next day everyone was up early and Draco decided to go ahead and hold the meeting at nine. Nothing had changed but a few minor details that had been overlooked were hammered out. Order members began arriving by eleven and by noon all the assignments had been handed out. Ginevra ordered everyone to take the afternoon and evening off to relax since nothing could be done by those that remained 'til the next day anyway.

After lunch Pansy spoke up. "The topic keeps turning to the war. That means only one thing."

"I am _NOT_ participating." Snape folded his arms across his chest and glowered, daring someone to challenge his assertion.

"Oh yes you are!" Draco laughed as he took the challenge. "Everyone to the study!"

Harry, Hermione, and Ron looked at each other in confusion. "It means charades." Ginevra informed them on their way out. "Pansy decided long ago that if conversation kept turning to the war during mandatory down times the only way to prevent it was to engage in an activity that necessitates the center of attention exercise complete silence." They all nodded in understanding.

Once everyone was in the study Charlie stood before them all. "Now, seeing as how we have three new comers, we need to go over a few rules. I know you all know how to play the game but we have had to modify it a little. Rule number one, Draco and Ginevra are on opposing teams. Rule number two, Draco and Snape are on opposing teams. Rule number three, Ginevra and Pansy are on opposing teams. Rule number four, I and Pansy are on opposing teams. Rule number five does not apply since Tonks is absent. Rule number six, I and Theodore are on opposing sides. Rule number seven…"

"Okay okay!" Pansy threw a pillow at him. "Just tell us how the teams stand!"

"Fine!" Charlie pretended to pout. "Ginevra, Snape, myself, Harry, and Hermione against Draco, Pansy, Ron, Theodore, Remus, and Molly."

"You guys went through a lot of trouble to work out these teams didn't you?" Harry seemed impressed and Ron seemed confused.

"Yeah, well, after a few fiascos where the teams were unbalanced," Charlie hissed in through his teeth, "Theodore and I sat down and figured it out. Basically, no couples and no best friends on the same team, we also added mother and daughter when Ginny and Mum cleared up." Molly exchanged a look with her daughter and they both laughed remembering the game in question.

Pansy threw another pillow at Charlie, as of yet no one had figured out where she got her endless supply, "Sit down or draw!"

"Yes ma'am!" He saluted her and did as he was told.

No one would ever forget Snape hopping around like a bunny to illicit the response of Here Comes Peter Cottontail. It would be relived at family gatherings for years to be greeted by much laughter and a scowl from him. Ron kept getting docked for adding sound effects, but Remus made up for it when he drew The Boy who Called Wolf. He signified five words, pointed at Harry, made a fussy face and pretended to wipe his eyes with his fists, and pointed to himself while making a circle in the air above him to signify a full moon. Theodore got it immediately.

Ginevra caught her team up pretty easily, however. She drew Little Red Riding Hood, pointed to her hair, and mimed pulling a hood up over her head. Charlie had guessed it before she had had the hood all the way on.

"We would have separated siblings as well, but there are just too many of them." Theodore leaned over and whispered to Harry as Pansy shrieked in mock indignation.

"He used legillamancy, I saw him!" She couldn't keep a straight face though. Charlie threw one of her own pillows back at her, which she caught deftly and hit him over the head with it. Taking the opportunity to put on a show, Theodore dove between them.

He pretended to be struggling to hold her back. "Quick! Snape, help me separate them before she kills him!" He turned back to Charlie. "Run man! When will you listen to me! Domestic abuse is _not_ a sign of love!" Pansy started tickling him, though, and his last statement was all but lost in laughter.

"Oh, but she'll by flowers in the morning." Charlie leaned over the squirming Theodore to kiss Pansy.

"Oh! Oh! Oh!" Draco had started jumping up and down, pointing at the kissing couple as Theodore mimed being sick on the floor. "I know! I know! I know! I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus!" He was acting like an over excited four year old. Charlie dove at him and they began wrestling on the floor. Theodore looked over at Bill and they jumped up and acted like they were straining to pull the two apart. Bill fell back panting and Theodore took a step back, whipped his brow with his hand, got an over determined look on his face, and dove back in. Together they pried their way in between Draco and Charlie and behaved as though it was taking all their strength and more to push them apart.

Theodore "accidentally" kicked Bill's foot out from under him and Bill came "toppling" back on top of him as Draco took the opportunity to jump on Charlie who was falling on top of Bill. The rest of the room was roaring in laughter and Ginevra adopted her best school marm air with her hands on her hips and stood before them.

She reached out to pull Draco off the top with a "Now, now boys…" but squealed as he pulled her down and she found herself being tickled by Theodore as Charlie rolled on top of her to hold her down. Pansy began pelting them all with pillows and demanded they release her friend and soon found herself in the pile.

Harry leaned over to Remus. "Are they always like this during down time?"

Remus smiled. "Do you mean this insane or playing off each other like this?"

"Both." Harry was laughing in amazement. He has seen the Weasley siblings together, but it was never anything like this.

"You have to be insane to survive these days. I don't know what you three have been through, but around here we have been hit with tragedy, loss, stress, fear, and danger on every side. Their ability to make each other and everyone else around them laugh is what has brought us through. As for playing off of each other, well, that isn't just in down times. The feed off of each other in everything from battle, to strategy meetings, to games."

"But two of them…"

"Are the leaders? Doesn't matter. That is one of the many things that makes them unique. Most leaders throughout history have found it necessary to separate themselves from the men, so to speak, in order to command the needed respect. They don't. They have the authority, no one questions that. Their ability to lead as they do, make the decisions they do, take on the responsibility they do, _live_ as they do, and _still_ remain real people," he shrugged, "that just adds to the respect they receive. No one envies them the ability they have to see the world they way they see it or the responsibility of acting upon that vision and we are all simply glad that they can continue to live relatively normal lives despite it."

The tussle had died down and they were all lying on their backs panting. "I believe it is my turn." Draco finally stood and held his hand out to Ginevra.

"Indeed it is." She was half way up when she changed her mind and pulled him back down. She stood up and offered her hand out to him.

He eyed it suspiciously as if unsure of whether or not he could trust her before taking it and making his draw.


	12. The Final Battle

Everyone woke early the next morning. Faces were firm, tones were sharp and words were clipped as everything that was said was said in an few words as possible. Harry and Ron marveled at the efficiency with which the Order moved through the house, not once running into each other or anything else; it was like watching a perfectly choreographed dance and Hermione had joined in as if she had been a part of it from the beginning.

It didn't take long for Harry to sort out how to follow the half-formed statements and fragmented sentences as he watched the orchestration from the kitchen table. Ron remained confused for a considerably longer period of time. It was also fascinating how Ginevra, Draco, and Remus rotated through the kitchen; one of them was present at all times to answer questions but it was rarely the same one from moment to moment.

Almost precisely two hours to the minute after it began the dance was finished and Ginevra stood before Harry and Ron. "Thank you for staying out of the way. Let's go." Her hair was braided and she wore close fitting muggle clothing for ease of movement in combat; everyone had adopted that practice under her leadership. She moved toward the door without waiting for the others to stand.

Hermione was standing in the hall and fell in as they passed. Draco was pulling on a pair of gloves and opened the door for them. The made their way to the designated meeting place where they would wait for the signal. Well, where all of them except Ginevra would wait. Once Draco was positioned she left, after all, she was the one who would be giving the signal.

There were going to be three battles taking place across the country simultaneously. One was staged to occur in Diagon Alley, they had not found a way to avoid it. The second was already being fought in Hogsmeade. The third was supposed to take place in Godric's Hollow.

Ginevra threw a few curses in Hogsmeade before setting off Diagon. Apperating into her brother's store, she cautiously made her way through the streets. Her presence ignited the second battle and she helped get it well under way. When she arrived in Godric's Hollow, however, her heart sank.

"Failed. Riddle Manor. Now." A red blur passed between Draco and Harry. Draco did not hesitate before following her orders and the others barely did so. Draco exercised all of his will power to remain with Harry. Every fiber of his being wanted to be by Ginevra's side as she tried to clean this up, but he was needed here. He smirked as Theodore and Charlie arrived beside him, followed closely by Thompson.

That was enough. Draco motioned with his hand to signify the beginning of their contingency plan. They all spread out and moved through the shadows. Thompson shot up the signal of trouble and the dam broke. Curses were flying and confusion was spreading. Draco started shouting orders as loud as he could, not caring that the death eaters heard them as well.

Carlisle and Longbottom showed up with Tonks and Moody. Finally battle lines were being established. Remus was beside Draco before anyone knew he was there. "Diagon." Draco was gone.

He barely recognized the shopping district when he arrived. Apparently the death eaters due at Godric's Hollow had come here instead. He cursed under his breath as he realized that Ginevra was sending all of their best fighters to Riddle Manor. He caught up with Fred. "Hogs?"

"Gone." Fred shot a curse around the corner and they progressed to the next building.

"Gin?" Draco took down a death eater to their left while Fred took one across the street.

"Malkin's." Draco looked down the street in that direction and bit back a groan. Madame Malkin's was surrounded by death eaters.

"The others?" Fred was silent for a moment as they cleared out the next shop.

"Here: George, Siren, Snape. Hogs: Molly, Pansy, McGonagall. Gone: Bill and Aberforth." Draco yelled as he tackled a death eater he didn't have time to curse. "Siren was with Gin last I saw." They were sprinting an alley so he had time for a full sentence. They ducked behind a dumpster. "Snape and George were in Ollivander's." He grunted out as they pushed the dumpster over two death eaters. "The rest…" he shrugged and indicated the mayhem before them, "or Riddle's."

Draco nodded. They fought in silence for a while and managed to break through to Ollivander's, situated two shops down and across the street from Madam Malkin's. Snape was injured pretty badly but wasn't letting it hinder his fighting any. George rolled his eyes in relief at the appearance of allies. Draco paused long enough to cast a simple healing aid and pain nullifier on Snape. Then the four of them set out again.

Freed from their bunker, George and Snape helped Fred cover Draco as he crossed the street. Once all of them were across, they spread out, Fred and Snape going behind the stores, George going through, and Draco taking the street.

Just as they were about to break through to Madam Malkin's Siren broke out. She looked at Draco and didn't even wait for the question before pointing toward the apothecary. Draco froze for a fraction of a second, but for him it seemed like an eternity. The apothecary was rubble and had at least seven death eaters still firing curses at it. Then he saw it, a jet of purple light shot back from somewhere in the debris. Siren had seen it too. She smirked.

Draco roared.

Every death eater on the street looked in his direction. Five fell immediately, hit in their distraction. Before the others could recover Draco had charged those still standing around the apothecary as Ginevra struggled out and attacked them from behind. Siren and George finished off those in front of Madam Malkin's while Fred and Snape pulled a few more out of the alleyways.

Once the core of the battle was won they could hear distant skirmishes taking place in a few of the shops they had either passed on the other side of the street or had not yet reached. With barely a sideways glance at each other, Draco and Ginevra moved off to help their comrades.

Finally having Diagon secured, they returned to Riddle Manor. Fred and Snape remained behind, both too injured to be of any help in further battle but in well enough shape to help other casualties.

The battle at Riddle Manor was not faring much better than Diagon Alley had been when Draco arrived. Harry was holed up with Ron and Remus near an out building, unable to get anywhere near where they needed to be. Hermione had been separated from them an eternity before and was keeping, or being kept, near Theodore. Charlie was stuck out on his own in a grove and Thompson had fallen. Tonks and Longbottom were trying to clear a path for Harry from their post nearer the house but were failing miserably. Moody was trying to draw more death eaters into the grove and away from the main battle. He was having a little bit of success at it, but not enough.

George and Siren immediately set in to help Moody. Siren got behind a select group and chased them in that direction while George took Moody's lead and acted as bait. Together, the three of them began to make considerable headway, especially when Charlie broke free of those already in the grove and took over for George, allowing him to join Siren.

Draco found Theodore and Hermione and helped them move around the outskirts of the battle to a more advantageous position where they could help Tonks and Longbottom from a distance. Ginevra cut her own path to Harry and the others. Grabbing Ron, she broke out away from them and distracted three or four death eaters, reducing the number of those facing Remus and Harry significantly enough for them to break through and up to the house.

By that time, the rest of the reinforcements, which weren't many, from Diagon had arrived, along with a few of the healed survivors of the Hogsmeade battle. Most of the remaining death eaters were lured into the grove and Harry finally made it inside the Manor. Draco and Ginevra dashed in behind them, pulling their immediate companions with them. Once inside they sealed the door behind them so no one could get in or out until one of them decided to allow it.

Hermione, Theodore, Ron, Ginevra, Remus, and Draco provided enough cover from the personal guards held back to protect Voldemort for Harry to engage in the final confrontation. During that battle Remus fell. It was later discovered that at what was presumed to be almost exactly the same moment, Tonks had fallen on the grounds.

It wasn't until the final battle was finally over that Draco had time to let himself realize how horrible Ginevra looked after having an apothecary fall on top of her. He had to physically grab her and force her to sit down because she was trying to orchestrate the after battle assessment. Had he not, she probably would have fainted from blood loss before she could give her third instruction. Her left arm was immobile and barely attached. Her right hip was a mess of blood and Draco marveled at the power of adrenaline to keep her standing on that leg.

He had barely gotten her cleaned up and sufficiently healed to operated a few hours without more treatment when they attention was demanded elsewhere.


	13. Long Enough

Help had arrived. Charlie had gone for Pansy as soon at it was safe. She had already cleared Hogsmeade and was working on Diagon Alley. She was needed there, but Molly rounded up as many volunteers as she could and took them all to Riddle Manor, allowing her son to stay with his fiancé.

Together, Draco and Ginevra brought order back to the battle field. They pulled together the relatively unwounded. She began to cast enough charms on those beyond her care to keep them alive until they could be transported to the hospital, giving orders to those with enough skill to cure the relatively minor wounds while he orchestrated efforts to move those she designated to St. Mungo's. As soon as Molly had seen her daughter and sons were well enough to handle the situation she breathed a sigh of relief and went to the hospital to help organize the incoming casualties and notify families of the living and the lost.

Siren was finally free from searching for more survivors and moved to help Ginevra with triage. Draco had set up an efficient enough system that he was able to stand back and observe, only stepping in here and there. Mostly, though, he was watching Ginevra. She still looked so weak but no matter how much he wanted to, whether she would let him or not, he knew he couldn't take her away from what she was doing. She was needed.

Before anyone knew what was happening Pansy had arrived with Charlie and they were ushering Draco and Ginevra to the hospital for their own treatment.

* * *

They had once had fifty members. After the final battle, the Order of the Phoenix had less than half of that. Some had wondered at the shear number of death eaters, but most just shook their head sadly and mumbled something about fearing as much. 

Even after proper treatment and everything the best at St. Mungo's could do, Ginevra would walk with a limp for the rest of her life and had a limited range of motion with her left arm. It seemed that some tendons had been torn beyond repair in her hip and shoulder. Draco had a scar running the length of his left bicep, running from his shoulder in the front to just above his elbow on the back. Theodore was blind in one eye. Charlie lost half of an ear. Snape's knee was entirely destroyed and would never bend again. No one would ever mistake the twins again. Fred had a scar running down one cheek and George had one deep into his right hand, forcing him to learn how to write with his left. Siren had what appeared to be a large X on her cheek.

More than one veteran had lost a limb and three had endured comas of various lengths. Not one who had fought in the battle escaped without some type of scar to remind them of that day. Harry's scar had been extended to cross his left eye. Ron had a scar running up his right calf. Hermione had one on her left side, just under her ribs.

* * *

Someone had been kind enough to arrange for Draco and Ginevra to share a room. Neither one of them felt the fatigue of battle yet and wanted to receive full reports from every corner as they came in. At last, when they had a full picture of everything that had happened and managed to figure out what had gone wrong, Theodore and Charlie managed to convince them both to take sleeping draughts, having slept already themselves. 

The ministry had been kind enough to issue an edict that no press would be allowed near any of the veterans until they, the ministry, had received a full report from the surviving members of the triad. Moreover, they had mercifully agreed to wait until Draco and Ginevra were ready to report rather than demand that they do so immediately.

When Draco awoke, Ginevra was still soundly asleep. He watched her breath evenly and peacefully. When she opened her eyes and looked over at him sleepily he smiled. "It's over." His voice was barely a whisper. She returned his smile and sat up tentatively.

She tried to stretch but found her left arm would barely raise above her head and she could not move it behind her body from the shoulder at all. She shrugged at the curiosity and Draco laughed. She hopped off her bed and he sat up. She was only wearing a thin night gown and all he had on was a pair of white pajama pants.

Limping over to him she looked at his arm. Tracing his scar with her fingers she looked up at him. "Does it hurt?"

His looked down into her eyes. "No. Does your hip? Or your shoulder?"

She shook her head. He smiled slightly again and started to lean down.

Theodore knocked and entered without waiting for a reply. "Well I _did_ knock." He chuckled at Draco's frustrated expression.

Draco growled. "I assume the press is congregating downtairs?"

Theodore rose an eyebrow at the question and Ginevra's eyes widened. When Theodore nodded Ginevra spoke. "I'm getting dressed…"

"No, you are not." Draco jumped off his bed, grabbed a robe and wrapped it around her, scooped her up in his arms, and headed out the door, not caring that he was still shirtless. "I have tried to do this three times and have been interrupted three times. I have waited long enough."

"You know, I _can_ walk," but she wrapped her arms around his neck, in contrast to her statement. "And I'm not sure I understand the whole press thing."

He smirked evilly. "You cannot walk fast enough, no offense," she grinned, "and as for the press, well, if I can't have a private moment with you without interruption I will have a public moment with you." She laughed.

When he got to the doors of the front lobby he called, "Oi! Longbottom, open the doors!" Neville ran to do as he was told with a very confused expression on his face. He looked back at Theodore who was almost doubled over with silent laughter, having walked behind Draco the whole way down, but somehow managed to shake his head.

There, in the lobby of the hospital, before all the press of the wizarding world, Draco set Ginevra before him, held her face in one hand and her side with the other, and kissed her deeply. For the rest of his life Draco cherished the picture that appeared on the front page of the Daily Prophet the next morning.


	14. Epilogue

A/N sorry this took so long to update. unexpected interference. this is the last chapter in the story, it is now finished. thank you very much to my loyal readers and to those who have reviewed, i'm glad you liked this. i'm sorry to see this one come to end.

if you enjoyed it, please read The Horsemen. it is another story of mine and is DM/OC and GW/BZ though the romance will be relatively slow in coming like most of my stories. i'm not sure how long it will be, but i really like it, as much as i did What No One Knew and this one. please take a look.

* * *

Reconstruction began on Diagon Alley and Hogsmeade immediately. Draco and Ginevra spent two days with ministry officials giving report after report. Pansy spent those two days organizing funerals. She had been asked by her friends to work with the families of the dead to schedule them in such a way that they could attend as many as possible, hopefully no more than two simmultaneously so that at least one of them could be present. She was also given a list of names that both desperately wanted to be in attendance at. Then there were those that were completely inflexible. Neither would miss Remus and Tonks memorial, to be held at the same time, for anything. Draco refused to allow Ginevra to attend her brother's funeral without him. 

Somehow Pansy worked it so that they would both be able to attend every single funeral of one fallen in the final battle. Many of the families had agreed to hold joint services with each other. When they were done with the ministry, Draco and Ginevra spent ten days honoring the dead. On the twelth day after the war they reluctantly attended a dinner in their honor. It was a fantastic affair held at Hogwart's. Two days later they attended a ball in honor of Harry, Ron, and Hermione. For a month they made public appearances and held press conferences. For six months they worked for the Aurors, helping them trace down the last of the death eaters that had escaped the battle. A year to the day they were married.

Ginevra had wanted a small wedding with only their close friends present but that proved to be impossible. Draco, however, determined to make his bride happy and give her exactly what she wanted, found away around their celebrity status. He threw an engagement party two months before the wedding was to be held. He invited only their close friends. After the engagement party Ginevra went to a spa in France for two weeks with Hermione and Luna to relax from the stress of planning a wedding. Draco was to spend those two weeks hunting with his soon to be brothers-in-law in the mountains of Germany. The Weasley men went hunting while Hermione and Luna went to the spa, but Draco and Ginevra spent their honeymoon on a cruise ship in the south Pacific. Upon their return they lived for six months as they had before, she managed to enjoy the massive public wedding, and then they went on holiday to southern Italy for a month.

The most interesting thing about their public wedding was the toast at their reception. Theodore, as the best man, would have been the one expected to deliver the toast, but he did not. Rather, Draco stood and raised his glass to get everyone's attention. "I would like to thank you all for being here today. This reception is not only a celebration of my happy union with this, thankfully, delusional woman, but a celebration of life. There are many who could not be here today and their absence is sorely felt." He moved his glass toward a row of unanimated portraits lining one wall of the hall. "Her father, Arthur, and brother, Bill. Our old headmaster, Dumbledore. Our very dear friends Silas Sikes and Gregory Goyle. Our..." he was beginning to choke up and Ginevra reached out hold her husbands arm, "our... well, there really isn't a word for what he was to us, Remus Lupin and his wife, the lovely Nymphadora Tonks." He closed his eyes for a moment. "And you really don't want me to name all of those we lost in the war, though I could." He indicated the last frame that held a list of all the fatal casualties, and he could indeed list them all without a glance or a hint. "In honor of their sacrifice we have decided to give a wedding gift to you all." Theodore waved his wand and a false wall behind them disappeared. There was beautiful statue of a Phoenix and on its base was inscribed all the lost and wounded as well as their ages. "It will be placed in the square of the new Diagon Alley. A toast to their immortal memory!" He raised his glass up high and all present lifted theirs before drinking to loved ones and heroes.

Ginevra accepted the post of teaching Defense Against the Dark Arts to become the youngest teacher in the history of the school. Draco intrusted his inherited business to men he trusted and took the post of Potions Master, Snape having retired. There were five Malfoy children, three Gryffindor and two Slytherin, though Slytherin had outgrown the negative conotation it had once bore by the time they were in school. Neville Longbottom gratefully sank into anonymity as the Herbology teacher and married Luna who replaced Trelawny in Divination. Pansy moved to Romania with Charlie when he returned to work with the dragons again. Fred and George continued with their joke shop and moved back home with their mother, sharing the borrow even after they both married and had families of their own. Theodore became a ministry official and eventually Minister for Magic. Siren eventually agreed to marry him and sang at the wedding of their son and the youngest Malfoy. Harry had a long career as Head Auror, assisted by Ron. Hermione Weasley was proffessor of Arithmancy at Hogwart's and eventually became Headmistress. She and Ron had seven children, only one female, the youngest, and named her Ginevra after her aunt. Every year, from the first on, a rather large and loosely defined family reunion was held at Malfoy Manor.

The statue of the Phoenix still stands in New Diagon Alley and a replica was made to stand in New Hogsmeade. Field trips are taken to the Hogsmeade monument every year in History of Magic.


End file.
